Customers Want Multichannel Fraud Alerts

The Internet, smart phones and other connected devices have changed the way we communicate. Rather than wait to check for information, various devices and services bring it to us, creating a sense of receiving updates in real-time. It's just a matter of sending information to the right place.

The Internet, smart phones and other connected devices have changed the way we communicate. Rather than wait to check for information, various devices and services bring it to us, creating a sense of receiving updates in real-time. It's just a matter of sending information to the right place.

In a fraud communications survey published in April, Harris Interactive found that 89 percent of consumers prefer to be notified by multiple and various forms of communication. Further, more than half of consumers between the age of 18 and 34 would prefer a text message. The survey was conducted in March on behalf of SoundBite Communications in anticipation of its SoundBite Fraud Management SolutionSM product, which was launched May 4.

"Consumers were asked what was the No. 1 way in which a bank could improve communicating potentially fraudulent activity," said Mark Friedman chief marketing and business development officer for the communications provider. "The main answer was for banks to communicate over the customer's preferred communications channel."

In the survey, banks that were notifying consumers as quickly as possible or immediately across multiple channels performed well, Friedman adds, and they also improved cardholder confidence. Notifications over multiple channels were also significant.

The findings also seem to indicate consumers' growing reliance on mobile, particularly in communicating via text message. While 84 percent of respondents said they'd like to be notified with a home phone call, and 64 percent would like a letter to their home address, more than half also indicated they'd like a call to their cell phone or an email as well. Friedman said it's important for banks to be able to alert customers of potential fraud with more than just a phone call.